BIOGRAPHY

“AN EXTRAORDINARY TALENT FOR INTIMATE ACOUSTIC SONGS WITH HIGH EMOTIONAL DENSITY” - ROLLING STONE

The musical partnership of Rachel Garcia and Thu Tran is rooted in a deep, long-standing friendship. For over 15 years, they have collaborated in creating a singular artistic voice, blending detailed, exacting poetry and evocative musicality. Their songs tell the stories of real people, exploring themes of death, grief, and their experiences of the world from their queer, POC, multi-racial identities. Their deep connection weaves through their music and performances, creating an inviting intimacy that they share with their audiences.

As a published poet, death doula, activist, and dedicated Buddhist Dharma practitioner, Rachel brings a queer, artistic vision of radical vulnerability and lyricism to the duo’s songwriting practice. In collaboration with Thu’s eclectic, self-taught musicianship, theater training, and personal history as a first-generation Vietnamese American son of refugee immigrants, the duo co-create songs and stories as layered and complex as their own identities and experiences.

PERFORMANCE HISTORY

The Singer and The Songwriter has performed over 475 shows across the US and Canada, logging thousands of miles. Notably, they have performed at historic venues like The San Francisco War Memorial Opera House, Freight & Salvage Coffeehouse (Berkeley, CA), The Bluebird Cafe (Nashville, TN), Hotel Cafe (Los Angeles, CA), Rockwood Music Hall (New York, NY), Crystal Ballroom (Portland, OR), and have performed at music festivals and house concerts all across the country.

In 2018, the duo performed at the San Francisco War Memorial Opera House as the musical guest for the Goldman Environmental Prize. They were joined by the award-winning, viral Bay Area dance crew, The Company, who created choreography for The Singer and The Songwriter’s original song, ‘Wild Heart.’ That same year, the duo embarked on the Door to Door House Concert Tour which capitalized on the duo’s DIY touring approach. By crowdsourcing hosts through their dedicated fanbase, they created a national tour route, resulting in an epic 8-week, 23-city national tour that spanned from California to Vermont.

In October 2019, the duo partnered with High Plains Public Radio for the HPPR Music Ambassador Tour, a multi-city listening room tour, aiming to bring high-quality live music to the small towns and rural communities in the high plains region of the US. The HPPR Ambassador program increases community exposure to the arts and, through these intimate performances, provides these audiences with access to world-class musicians.

In April 2020, with the cancellation of concerts and gatherings due to the COVID-19 pandemic, The Singer and The Songwriter created The Songmobile, an innovative way to safely share live music with their local community. They created a mobile setup that allowed them to perform from their car while listeners enjoyed the music safely from their porches and garages. The duo performed over 52 donation-based, private, outdoor mini-concerts around the SF Bay Area during shelter-in-place orders.

In 2023, the duo opened multiple shows in the Bay Area for acclaimed singer-songwriter and climate activist, Vienna Teng, including two sold-out shows at The Freight & Salvage Coffeehouse in Berkeley, CA.

AWARDS & ACCOMPLISHMENTS

In 2012, the duo won the West Coast Songwriters International Song Contest in the Miscellaneous category for their original recording, ‘The Art of Missing You’ – “…a delightfully poised and melancholic classic jazz ballad that Sarah Vaughan or Billie Holiday would have gladly wrapped their wounded souls around.” (Americana-UK)

In 2014, The Singer and The Songwriter released their critically acclaimed, debut full-length LP, What a Difference a Melody Makes, produced by Charlie Stavish (Ryan Adams, Jenny Lewis) with mixing and mastering by Brooklyn collective, Mason Jar Music (Lucius, Feist and Andrew Bird). Debuting at #34 on the CMJ Jazz Top 40 Charts, the album has been critically praised as “diverse, confident, stylish and accomplished” (Americana-UK),  “a revelation” (Pittsburgh In Tune) and “an opus worthy of national attention” (Playback: STL).

In March 2016, The Singer and The Songwriter released their sophomore EP, Ballads for Trying Times, produced by Griffin Rodriguez (Beirut). This release was praised as “a delectable listen, an emotional journey down a sullen, yet hopeful trail. Garcia and Tran bring together songs that appear written just for the listener, and no one else.” (Playback: STL). Later that year, Rachel was the featured guest on episode #84 of award-winning podcast The Longest Shortest Time created by Hillary Frank. The episode, entitled My Best Friend’s Baby, has garnered thousands of listeners, and tells the story behind the creation of the song ‘A Lullaby (for Malcolm),’ which has since become a fan-favorite, and has anecdotally helped many nap-challenged babies fall asleep.

In October 2017, the duo released their third collection of songs, DIRECTIONS. The Huffington Post says the album "radiates gorgeously contagious melodies, palpitating rhythms and luscious harmonies and, of course, Garcia’s unparalleled voice." In February 2018, the song, ‘Give Love’ was nominated for Best Adult Contemporary Song at the 16th Annual Independent Music Awards.

Their music has been featured in film, television and commercials. In 2017, their song ‘Someday’ was featured in the premiere pilot episode of Bravo’s Impostors as well as a 2021 international commercial campaign for Specialized Bicycles’ Trail Altered collection. In 2023, the song ‘Give Love,’ was featured in the second season of the Amazon Original Series With Love, and most recently their song “Wild Heart” was featured in a national television commercial spot for Pacifico Beer Co. as part of the 2024 Winter X Games.

In 2022, they were named a finalist in the prestigious Grassy Hill New Folk Song Competition for Emerging Folk Artists at the Kerrville Folk Festival, as well as finalists in the 21st Annual NewSong Competition in Asheville, NC.

The duo released their new full-length studio album, Dreams! The Dead! Ghost! Future, in July 2024.